A Cappella
by Mirrajay
Summary: Adopted into the family, Aria Weasley is an aspiring cantor whose talent for dark music is undeniable. Adrian Malfoy is a gifted musician who has become disillusioned with pure-blood supremacy. They hide their relationship and truly suffer for it when Adrian is granted a task from the Dark Lord. OCxOC Set pre SS then GOF and beyond


I decided to write this with two OCs because I didn't feel like disrupting canon pairings. I tried writing this because I liked the idea of new generation/OC Weasley or Potter x Malfoy pairing.

Before someone starts getting onto me about names and constellations, Adrian's name comes from Hadrian who named the constellation now known as Aquila. Yes a stretch but good enough.

Aria, the character being vocally gifted shouldn't need explaining and her given name (by her mother) Ariadne is relevant during the events of GoF. Yes, that was a spoiler. Sort of.

Also the letters in Aria's name is in Adrian and Adrian's is in Ariadne. This prologue-sort of chapter is set during OoTP.

* * *

"Mum! You've hugged me twice already. I'm not a first year anymore." The teenage girl pleaded, safeguarding the worry welling in her stomach. Her mum and dad had renewed their responsibilities with the Order over the summer, despite their consciences weighed down by their children.

"Once more, Aria." The loving mother pulled her back into her embrace. They contrasted remarkably in appearance, Molly's red hair and pale skin to Aria's dark brunette hair and olive skin. Aria realized she could wrap her arms tighter around her usually plumper mother. Her mother shivered as she released her and regardless un-summery gray chill darkening the platform, Aria knew it wasn't from the cold.

Since the return of the Dark Lord, Molly Weasley had been generous with her hugs. _What if something happens?_ The mother's heart ached with strain of the summer's nonstop anxiety as she looked into Aria's brown eyes. Molly remembered the day in Nott's Notes when little Aria gazed intensely up at her, in the same way, and then Molly decided to raise Aria as her own.

The girl looking at her now was sixteen years old and going into her sixth year at Hogwarts. She was blossoming into a beautiful young lady- _oh how the time flew._ Though not of her genes, Aria was one-hundred percent of her heart. She'd hex anyone who dared to say that Aria was not her daughter!

"Be back for Christmas this year, Aria! Last year was too lonely and quiet because of that Yule Ball."

The girl's heart broke. "We will, mummy."

Their smiles strained as if in mutual, silent acknowledgement of the painful summer and impending war. However hard Molly and Arthur tried to shelter the children from it all, through fake smiles, dismissal of their curiosity, the tension and worry manifested in every action, caution, and shadowy corner in Grimmauld, impossible to ignore.

Molly cupped her daughter's cheek and whispered. "Be extra careful this year, Aria. Listen to what Mad Eye ordered."

Aria nodded as Arthur returned from saying goodbye to Ginny. He extended his arms out and Aria jumped into his arms.

Aria held her father tight, pushing down the thought that she might never hug him again.

"Take care of yourself and your siblings. See you at Christmas." Arthur murmured over her ear.

* * *

Further down the platform, Narcissa Malfoy hugged each of her sons who were quite alike in appearances yet very different individuals. She lightly patted down Draco's sleek hair as he held his chin higher than usual thanks to his shiny prefect badge. "Do well on your O.W.L.s, make me proud."

Lucius set a palm on his elder son's shoulder. At sixteen years of age, his son was almost fully grown and nearly matched him in height. In many ways Adrian made Lucius a proud father. He earned top marks, carried himself with sophistication, charming speaker, even with senior ministers. Adrian lacked the naivete of his younger brother and instead of demanding then pouting, he simply _took_ what he wanted.

However, Lucius saw a change in his son that summer and couldn't pinpoint what exactly. It was after Adrian asked to leave Durmstrang that Lucius had noticed his distracted demeanor. He still received top marks, conversed well of his elite position, but something was _off_.

Lucius considered with the return of the Dark Lord the boy was exhibiting fear. As sound as the theory was, Lucius also couldn't help but think that despite Adrian acting distracted, he also seemed happier.

When Lucius sought an explanation one idle Sunday, Adrian replied with ease.

"You seem a bit... _engrossed_ as of late."

If Lucius expected Adrian to display skittishness, he disappointed him.

Adrian had faced him boldly, his sneering expression like a mask. "My music work has been impeccable this whole year and as seen by my marks, Professor Forte believes so too. She says I will secure an internship after my education easily."

Lucius had stared at his son for a moment, reading him. If Adrian was doing something Lucius didn't approve of, his features didn't give it away.

The train whistled last call to urge the last of the passengers to board. Lucius looked down the Malfoy crest ring on his finger then up at his anticipating elder son.

"I expect you, Adrian, to maintain your top marks and carry yourself with the proper level of prestige. I will not have my sons fouling our family name or heritage."

The tow-headed young man smirked as if given an easy task.

Unusually expressive, Lucius' staid expression turned abhorrent as he spotted the elder Weasleys assisting their two girls. The teenager peered in the direction of his father's grimace and recognized the redhead and dark brunette.

"The sheer fact that a pure-blood family could joyfully harbor a mudblood in their home and allow it to take their family name proves that there is a disease affecting wizards today."

"What disease is that, father?" Adrian asked, watching as the girls smiled and waved goodbye to their parents.

"It goes by many names: ignorance, irresponsibility." Lucius hissed. "With that, I imagine you'll soon regret your decision to leave Durmstrang."

"You know mother's wishes." Adrian remarked.

"And you know mine." Lucius added, his eyes as leery on Adrian as they had been on the Weasleys.

* * *

Ginny and Aria proceeded down the train with Harry hovering close behind after Ron and Hermione left for the Prefect car. They passed by the unofficial Cantor car but Aria kept walking with her sister and Harry after she saw a chubby dirty blond girl and a petite light brunette give her expressions of contempt.

"Still not talking to Cassie or Darcy?" Ginny whispered.

Aria shook her head breathlessly.

However shy many people thought of Ginny, she freely expressed her disdain in front of her sister. "To be friends with them for five years than to just drop you like that? They're vile cows."

"They're not worth talking about." Aria muttered.

They passed a car packed with students, none of whom Aria could recognize. She didn't think twice about it, despite the fact that they all looked like seventh years and she should have seen their faces before.

They settled into a car with Luna Lovegood as she read the Quibbler. Aria had never formally met Luna before but she quickly took her bundle of robes to find a place to change.

She slowly wandered through the train, surprised at how packed each car was and how the train rode shakier than ever before. When she passed by the car with unfamiliar students, the compartment suddenly opened. Strong arms wrapped around Aria and pulled her inside.

She turned around and smiled with a loving sigh at the blond young man. He returned the smile before cupping her chin and bringing her to his lips for the first time since June. Aria enjoyed the kiss for a moment before unwillingly pulling away to ask a nagging question. She pressed her cheek to his chest, relishing his scent.

"Adrian, did you charm the compartment glass to make it look occupied?"

He rubbed the curve of her waist and smirked. "Notice how it's empty? The door is also charmed so it won't open unless I'm the one who slides it open."

Aria circled her arms around Adrian's neck. "I'm impressed." She leaned to kiss him again, realizing that he must have grown a little.

He enclosed the space between them, pressing her torso up against his own. He pried her lips open with his tongue as his hand squeezed the back of her neck and played with her dark hair. Her blood raced in her veins and she moaned into Adrian's mouth. It felt as if the air was stolen from her lungs and she had to pull away. Breathless, Aria tore away from his eyes, blushing a Weasley-shade of red.

Her hands trailed down his chest but she hesitated when a group of laughing students strolled by the compartment.

"Don't worry, they can't see us." Adrian reassured her, however quietly as if he didn't trust his own words.

With a weary sigh, she pressed her cheek back to his chest and shut her eyes. The jolt had reminded her of her parents' words: be extra careful.

"I'm sorry I didn't write. I wrote a few letters but I couldn't risk posting them. We think the Ministry is intercepting our mail. With everything that has happened...it's more complicated now."

Aria remembered solemnly how optimistic she had been before the end of the Triwizard Tournament about telling her family about the boy she had fallen for. How stupidly happy she had been back then? Felt as if she could float as she wondered through Hogwarts. Adrian and Aria had agreed to tell their parents, but that was before the return of You-Know-Who. It was too dangerous to tell anyone now. Aria did not know, nor did she ask, what were the Malfoy duties under You-Know-Who. However, she knew her family was solely dedicated to Harry Potter and squashing any pure-blood campaign.

Adrian's family was on the other side, a side that would undoubtedly be faced in the future. Their families were divided enough purely on philosophy.

To the Malfoys, no matter what Aria accomplished in her life, no matter how much wealth, status, respect she could earn, even in ten lifetimes, she'd never be worthy of Adrian as a muggle-born. Adrian would never be trusted by her family nor would they ever really trust a pure-blood wizard from aristocratic pedigree.

Besides philosophy, it wasn't just a pure-blood family and a mix-blood family at odds with each other—the Malfoys and Weasleys _hated_ each other with undying passion. Her father and his father could make Shakespearean characters sound tolerant and forgiving from their countless verbal, occasionally physical, skirmishes since before Aria was born. Their mothers were competitive over their children's cantoration talent, gloating about whose singing performance was more impressive. Draco gave her little brother hell and vice versa.

Originally Aria had wanted to confess so she could tell Ginny, her family and friends and not have to hide. Analyzing it now, they were too naive to think they could confess to their parents. With the indefinite threat of war, the only option was to hide, lie and pretend to hate each other.

Aria thought, as Adrian fingered the waves in her hair and she gazed at his gray eyes and pale lashes, he was worth it.

"From what I've overheard from my father, they definitely are intercepting. It's alright now. We have all year to catch up in the studios."

Aria hummed against his chest, looking forward to spending long nights in the studio recording vocals and snogging her boyfriend. "I missed you."

"I missed you too." He murmured against her temple, running his fingers through her hair.

She blurted another nagging question, one that had been bothering her all summer. "How are things at home since...You-Know-Who's return?"

Adrian flinched even though Aria used the ambiguous name. "Busy. My father has been very preoccupied. He is parading around confidently but he's scared about something. How are things at home? Was there any backlash because of the Triwizard tournament?"

He noticed her uncomfortable twitch.

"Home was busy. My parents haven't really discussed their concerns over my role in the tournament. They were walking on eggshells with me all summer—I can't tell if they're scared about my involvement or trying to be sensitive about..."

"Cedric." Adrian slipped.

The uttered name tore a fresh wound inside. Aria thought about how Harry couldn't even look her in the eyes after he came to Grimmauld place.

Aria abruptly shook her head and forced a smile, as she had done all summer, desperately wishing to change the subject. Mentioning Cedric made both Aria and Adrian uncomfortable.

Adrian got the hint. He sat down on the chair and brought Aria next to him. "How's singing practice?"

This immediately drew sincere cheer from Aria. "Great! I've been dying to tell you that Forte gave me excellent feedback for a change. She approves of how I'm exploring my Mezzo and Contralto range. She also noted that my involvement in the tournament was, quoting her, _phenomenal and_ my _best work thus far._ " Her eyes sparkled in delight.

"I never knew why you all were so frightened of Forte. She always gave me good feedback."

Aria rolled her eyes. "That's because she has never made you cry before. We all thought you bribed her in the beginning."

"That's what you call talent." Adrian held his chin up proudly in dramatic arrogance.

"Come off it!" Aria playfully jabbed him in the stomach. She snickered right before he took her knees to pull her into his lap. All hope of returning to her former compartment left Aria when Adrian locked his lips over hers. Tender at first, their embrace incited a craving within them after being absolutely separated for three months. Three long months without communication, touching or saying each other's name.

Not even an hour after leaving for Hogwarts, Aria and Adrian had already severely broken the rules set by the Order of the Phoenix, the Deatheaters and their parents.


End file.
